German Pat. No. 12 49 801 discloses a very long double roller table for two parallel rolling lines. The roller table is constructed as a pivoting deviator and is disposed between the rolling mills and the cooling bed associated with each rolling line in a small structural and merchant mill with a wide rolling campaign as regards sectional shape and cross-sectional dimensions (German Pat. No. 10 57 048). It is therefore possible in continuous rolling operation in both lines, i.e. in two-strand rolling of thin sections, to supply cut lengths to each cooling bed or in the case of single-strand rolling of thick and relatively bending-resistant sections in one rolling line, the main or subsidiary strand, to alternately supply cut lengths to one or the other cooling bed. In view of the large pivoting deviator mass which has to be moved it is however possible for the pivoting deviator to be set from one cooling bed to that associated with the other rolling line in single-strand rolling at substantial intervals if the capacity of both cooling beds is to be utilized. In practice, one cooling bed is first fully loaded and thereafter the second cooling bed is fully loaded. The pivoting deviator thus offers the advantage of transferring relatively bending-resistant rolled stock to the cooling bed associated with the other rolling line under conditions of very slight deflection. This method of supplying both cooling beds suffers from the disadvantage of an average shorter cooling time of the cut lengths on the cooling beds. Moreover, the cold shears disposed downstream of the cooling beds are loaded with twice the production output when they are fed with the cut lengths associated with the cooling beds for the purpose of cutting into commercial lengths.
On the other hand, in a system comprising a pivotable cross-deviator disposed in the diagonal between the two rolling mills and the associated cooling beds and short pivoting deviators at the beginning and end of the intersecting roller table portions which enclose the cross-deviator between them, it is not possible for relatively bending-resistant rolled stock, more particularly broad flat sections of up to approximately 150 mm or large cross-sections or cross-sections with a high approach speed to be transferred smoothly, i.e. without plastic deformation of the longitudinal axis or without trouble to the second cooling bed with the least possible deflection.